Practice Staff
Talking Wellness
COVID-19 pressures on the wider NHS brought national recognition that the mental health and wellbeing of health and social care staff was at risk of deteriorating, to the point where some staff were in real danger of developing symptoms of trauma, such as anxiety, depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other mental health disorders.
In response to this NHS England (NHSE) funded 40 resilience hubs across the country to deliver mental health and wellbeing support to NHS and social care staff; talking wellness, Kent and Medway’s staff mental health and wellbeing service, is one of those hubs.
The service, which is free of charge, is delivered by a team of professional clinicians, providing confidential psychological support, signposting to other services, individual interventions, and the facilitation of group sessions for teams.
The team also provides support for GPs and staff working within primary care, including, but not limited to, practice managers, reception staff and practice nurses.
Staff can self-refer into the service, or refer a colleague, providing they have their consent to do so. Members of the team are also on hand for a chat should people feel they’d like to talk things through with someone, in a confidential space, away from the office. This can be an in-person session, a face-to-face video call or a telephone conversation.
More information and contact details can be found on our talking wellness staff portal.
Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
All staff employed by practices in Kent and Medway are able to access the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). This is provided by Health Assured. It is a confidential employee benefit designed to help primary care colleagues deal with personal and professional problems that could be affecting their home life or work life, health and general wellbeing. The Health Assured EAP service provides a complete support network that offers expert advice and compassionate guidance 24/7, covering a wide range of issues including:
- a 24/7/365 confidential helpline
- up to six sessions of face-to-face, structured telephone or online counselling per employee per year
- medical information with nurses accessible by phone
- legal and financial information and support
- child and dependent care such as advice on caring for children, elderly relatives and disabled dependents, and searches for finding care homes, nurseries.
- Manager Consultancy and Support service for line managers
- 24/7 critical incident telephone support
- online help and advice - for issues such as alcohol/drugs, debt, family, bereavement, tax, childcare and dependant care advice
- access to Health Assured's Health and Wellbeing Portal which provides four week programmes, mini health checks, monthly webinars and fact sheets
- access to Health Assured's Health e-Hub app which provides unique content, relevant support and preventative wellness programmes straight from your phone
- You can contact Health Assured through their 24/7 confidential helpline on 0800 028 0199. - you just need to state which practice you are employed by. Health Assured's health and wellbeing portal is available through their website https://healthassuredeap.co.uk You will need to log in using these details: Username: Kent Medway Password: CCG
How to Improve your Resilience during this difficult time
This is a free online Resilience toolkit from Beyond Coaching for all NHS employees & Key Workerss.
Looking after you too
NHS support on helping you manage your own health and wellbeing whilst looking after others.
A Looking after you Primay Care Coaching Service is also available, details of which can be found here: NHS England » Looking after you: confidential coaching and support for the primary care workforce
NHS Every Mind Matters
Information includes staying well at home, and coping with children being off school, as well as the challenges of working remotely.
Release the Pressure
Coronavirus has caused a lot of disruption in many people’s lives, if you are struggling and need someone to talk to, call us or text the word Kent to 85258.
Staff Mental Health Hubs
The staff mental health and wellbeing hubs have been set up to provide health and social care colleagues rapid access to assessment and local evidence-based mental health services and support where needed.
Bespoke coaching
These confidential coaching offers have been designed to be easily accessible and tailored to your individual needs. Our experienced coaches can help you as an individual, support you to manage your team and reflect on your career goals and ambitions.
Wider support
There are a range of support offers and resources in place for our NHS colleagues which suit a range of different health and wellbeing needs, including fitness, financial and more.
CRITICAL FRIEND
The Critical Friend programme aims to ensure that colleagues have access to the career development and personal support that they need in order to sustain their resilience and well-being.
Critical Friends are a team of professionals who are available to the Primary Care workforce for 1:1 supportive conversations. They are established practitioners, and respected peers with a variety of advanced communication skills, experience and
training.
INTERESTED IN BECOMING A CRITICAL FRIEND OR ACCESSING A CRITICAL FRIEND?
Contact your local Training Hub to find out more
East Kent eastkent.traininghub@nhs.net
North Kent northkent.traininghub@nhs.net
West Kent wkccg.wkentraininghub@nhs.net